Brigadier-General Cecil Vernon Wingfield-Stratford CB,

CMG CMG may refer to: Companies * Capitol Music Group, a music label * China Media Group, the predominant state radio and television broadcaster in the PRC * China Media Group Co., Ltd., publicly listed Chinese holding company in the media sector * ...

(7 October 1853 – 5 February 1939) was a British Army officer in the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

and an English international footballer who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Early life

Born in West Malling, Wingfield-Stratford was educated at the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

, a descendant of the ancient

Stratford Family The House of Stratford () is a British aristocratic family, originating in Stratford-on-Avon between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. The family has produced multiple titles, including Earl of Aldborough, Viscount Amiens, Baron Baltingl ...

. He married Rosalind Isabel Bligh, daughter of Reverend Hon. Edward Vesey Bligh and Lady Isabel Mary Frances Nevill, on 12 October 1881. They had one son,

Esmé Cecil Wingfield-Stratford Esmé Cecil Wingfield-Stratford (1882–1971) was an English historian, writer, mind-trainer, outdoorsman, patriot and ruralist. Life Esmé was born on 20 September 1882 elder son of Brigadier-General Cecil Wingfield-Stratford (a descendant of ...

Sporting career

Wingfield-Stratford played as outside-left for the Woolwich Academy and for

, and earned one cap for England versus Scotland in 1877. He was described by

C.W. Alcock Charles William Alcock (2 December 1842 – 26 February 1907) was an English sportsman, administrator, author and editor. He was a major instigator in the development of both international football and cricket, as well as being the creator of t ...

as "very fast and useful as a wing; wants a little more 'last' resumably meaning staying-power" He took part in the replayed

1875 FA Cup Final The 1875 FA Cup Final was a football match between Royal Engineers and Old Etonians on 13 March 1875 at Kennington Oval in London. It was the fourth final of the world's oldest football competition, the Football Association Challenge Cup (known i ...

, both matches taking place at Kennington Oval when his team won the Final for their only time, against Old Etonians. The first match, on 13 March, ended in a 1–1 draw after extra time but the replay, three days later, ended in a conclusive 2–0 score. The Engineers' scorer in both matches, coincidentally, was

Henry Waugh Renny-Tailyour Henry Waugh Renny-Tailyour (9 October 1849 – 15 June 1920) was a British amateur all-round sportsman who appeared for Scotland in some of the earliest international football and rugby union matches, remaining to this day the only player to hav ...

who in September the same year married a sister of Wingfield-Stratford. He also played for M.C.C.

Military career

Wingfield-Stratford was commissioned into the Royal Engineers as Lieutenant in 1873. He ultimately retired as Brigadier-General in 1909 after being Chief Engineer in Ireland since 1906, without seeing any campaign service. However, he was recalled from retirement to serve in World War I in 1914 and held command on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

, taking part in the Battle of Loos in 1915, the Attack on the Gommecourt Salient on the first day of the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

in 1916, and was Commander R.E. of the 46th Division. He was mentioned in despatches four times and awarded the C.M.G. in 1916 and C.B. in 1918.

Later life

Wingfield-Stratford died in retirement aged eighty-five at Fartherwell, West Malling, on 5 February 1939.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wingfield-Stratford, Cecil 1853 births 1939 deaths Association football forwards Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Companions of the Order of the Bath England international footballers English footballers FA Cup Final players Royal Engineers A.F.C. players Royal Engineers officers Cecil British Army generals of World War I